Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team has filed a fresh appeal to disqualify two International Criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial judges from ruling on the court’s jurisdiction in the crimes against humanity case filed against him.
This new request, submitted by Duterte’s defense counsel, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, calls for the disqualification of Judges María del Socorro Flores Liera and Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, citing concerns over their impartiality.
The appeal comes after an earlier motion for partial recusal, filed on May 1, was rejected by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber on May 5. Duterte’s legal team had previously claimed a “perceived bias” from the two judges, who were among those that signed the warrant of arrest against the former Philippine leader.
According to the ICC’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence, requests for disqualification of judges must be decided by the ICC Presidency, composed of the President, First Vice President, and Second Vice President. However, since Judge Alapini-Gansou currently serves as the Second Vice President of the ICC, Kaufman argued that she should not be involved in the decision-making process on this matter.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has earlier dismissed the allegations of bias, asserting that Duterte’s team failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims.
The case against Duterte stems from the thousands of deaths linked to his controversial war on drugs, which the ICC is investigating under its jurisdiction on crimes against humanity.
